works 350 acres in the remote eastern up
lands of'Upolu that his matai father cleared
in the 1950s. Birdie and his wife, Marlene,
and their four small children live in a frame
house not far from spectacular 228-foot
high Sopo'aga Falls. Staying with the family
when I visited was Birdie's sister Sisilia, a
medical student at the University of Hawaii.
"Cattle used to be our mainstay," said
Birdie, as he showed me around the planta
tion. "But we were having problems with
theft. So now it's coconuts. We've been
making copra recently," he said, pointing to
the drying shed, "though we would prefer to
deal in whole nuts.
"Economic planning by the government
has been terrible. Two major industries here
The Two Samoas
are a cigarette factory and a brewery: The
tobacco is all imported, and the ingredients
for the beer are all imported. The govern
ment should be developing local industry to
encourage local products. Like integrated
processing of coconuts-using the whole
nut, not just the meat."
Back at the house, he and Sisi expanded
on the idea. "The technology has been
around," said Sisi, "but Third World coun
tries have been slow to exploit it. The husk
makes coir fiber, twisted fiber used in car
seats. The shells make high-quality acti
vated charcoal-industry uses it in anti
pollution equipment. And coconut milk has
potential as a carbonated beverage."
"The price for a nut now is six cents," said
467